Mel Gibson: I'm Tight With Cops

In addition to his alcohol problems, the actor/director clearly has some pent-up rage against the world's Jews, and he apparently doesn't particularly care for homosexuals either. But according to TMZ.com, Mel is close with the law enforcement community. Unless, of course, they happen to be doing their jobs, and pull him over for driving double the speed limit. Drunk. In which case, he belligerently threatens them.

In any case, TMZ has turned up a video shot by Extra in which Gibson is shown alongside Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. On the tape, the actor talks about his close relationship with the Sheriff's Department and is praised by its top official. Gibson served as spokesman at an event for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Star Organization (LASSO), a foundation that gives scholarships to the children of fallen deputies.

"I was late in coming here today and I think I almost got a ticket," Gibson jokes on the video, while appearing surprisingly sober.

The Sheriff called Mel "a wonderful man," and during the interview, Gibson talked about how one particular deputy would come by his home every few weeks.

"Officer Friendly pops around and just checks to see how things are. He just has a cup of coffee for ten minutes and hits the road. All my friends are copsâ€¦ I get on with them."

Sure. Meanwhile, one of the stars of Gibson's new movie, Apocalypto, has come to the director's defense, saying the recent DUI arrest / anti-Semitic rampage does not represent the Mel he knows.

Mauricio Amuy Tenorio, a former model who stars as a Mayan chief in the film, said in an interview that the Gibson scandal has taken him by complete surprise.

"I don't have the right to judge what he did," he said, adding that he's never heard anti-Semitic remarks from Gibson on the set. "I don't want to say that he's anti-Jewish."